It sounds impossible. Can towns and cities create one system to manage their electricity grid; natural gas supply; telecommunications; urban traffic and congestion; smart vehicles including EVs, buses and urban trains; water supply; waste water; urban farming; smart street lights; urban security; and public works?
On Friday, Jan. 26, Dr. Mohammad Shahidehpour will kick off the Purdue University Northwest (PNW) School of Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series with a compelling argument on why it is both possible and necessary for urban areas to thrive in a time of limited resources and global challenges.
He will speak about smart cities and global sustainability at 3 p.m. in the Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation on the PNW Hammond Campus, 7001 Woodmar Ave.
According to Shahidehpour, “The integrated smart city solution will enhance services, reduce costs, and ultimately improve security, reliability, resilience and sustainability in large metropolitan regions.”
The event is free and open to the public.
The smart grid expert
As the Director of the Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation and Bodine Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Shahidehpour is internationally recognized for his research in smart grid cybersecurity—and the design and implementation of affordable microgrids in impoverished nations.
He is the co-author of six books and 500 technical papers on electric power system operation and planning; a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering; a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , National Academy of Investors, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); and served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid.
The PNW School of Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series
The Distinguished Speaker Series of Purdue University Northwest’s School of Engineering will also feature Dr. Christos Georgakis (Friday, Mar. 2) speaking on the impact of aerodynamics, icing, and fatigue on structural cables; Dr. Wenliang Du (Friday, Mar. 30), who will discuss issues related to Android security; and Dr. Pravin Variaya (Friday, April 20), talking about self-driving cars and the need for “intelligent infrastructure.”
For more information on the speakers and their presentations, please visit www.pnw.edu/distinguished-speaker-series. pnw.edu/
The School of Engineering at Purdue University Northwest is recognized for its expertise in mechanical, civil, computer, and electrical engineering. In 2018, U.S. News and World Report ranked the school No. 26 among the Best Engineering Programs in the U.S., of engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor's or master's degree.
Purdue University Northwest
Purdue University Northwest (PNW) is a student-centered university that values academic excellence, supports growth and celebrates diversity. Located in Northwest Indiana, near Chicago, PNW fosters a vibrant academic community through high quality and engaging undergraduate and graduate education. For more information about PNW, visit www.pnw.edu.
